


Promise

by Junkiia



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Baby Frisk (Undertale), Confused Monsters, Fluff, Gen, Good Parent Toriel (Undertale), Oneshot, Protective Toriel (Undertale)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-11
Updated: 2021-03-11
Packaged: 2021-03-17 17:49:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,369
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29970084
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Junkiia/pseuds/Junkiia
Summary: The wailing could be heard all throughout the Ruins.  None of them knew what was making the noises or what this horribly loud creature wanted.Almost no one anyway.
Relationships: Frisk & Toriel (Undertale)
Comments: 23
Kudos: 14





	Promise

The wailing could be heard all through the Ruins. They were noisy and piercing cries that echoed through the normally quiet place. While annoying, they were also full of sorrow that made even the grumpiest and most apathetic monster’s soul clench. They had just started up suddenly. Everything had been calm and quiet, monsters had been going about their day, and then there had been a single pained scream, shattering the peace. The monsters had run to hide, not knowing what exactly had caused the scream, but thinking it couldn’t be anything good. There was a moment of silence, and then the wailing had started up.

They weren’t sounds the monsters in the Ruins could recognize. Some of them had children who would cry, but never like this. This was more raucous than the cries their babies would make, more desperate… More human-like, not that any of them were able to recognize this fact. They had never heard or even remembered seeing a human. So, these noises were alien-like to them.

To most of them anyway.

As the monsters slowly came out of their hiding places to investigate, a larger and seemingly braver one pushed past them, in a rush to get to the cause of the crying. The monsters gave her strange looks as she passed but stayed respectful. They didn’t understand why she seemed so concerned all of a sudden and were a little annoyed at being forcefully shoved aside, but this was the Queen. They were all aware of this fact, even if she wouldn’t admit it to any of them. They were Ruin monsters, sure, but they weren’t stupid enough not to recognize the boss monster who had been their Queen once upon a time. None of them had been alive during her rule, but they’d seen pictures and knew enough about the King to put two and two together.

Some of the more skittish creatures became nervous at seeing the Queen so worried. They fled the scene. If the usually composed boss monster wasn’t calm, they had reason to believe something serious was wrong. She was a figure of authority to them, which was part of the reason why they hadn’t told monsters outside the Ruins that the Queen was still alive and hiding out. They didn’t want to face her wrath or betray her. This was her secret to tell, when she wanted to, in whatever way she decided to do it. Ruin monsters were much more loyal to the Queen than to the King. This was another reason they kept her secret and why they stayed in the Ruins as well, instead of going out into the bigger parts of the Underground.

The crying was coming from the cavern where the humans fell. The monsters tended to stay away from there. A human hadn’t fallen in many, many years, but they didn’t want to be around when one did. Who knew what the human would do to anything that crossed their path? They’d heard stories of the vicious creatures who had killed off much of their population during the war. Horrifying narratives had been passed down generation to generation of the six humans who had already fallen.

They crowded around entrance to the cavern, by the purple gate that blocked it off. None of them moved to shove open the gate. A few fought to look through the crack. They couldn’t see anything. They could just hear the crying that was starting to become hoarser but still loud just the same.

The monsters stepped aside for the Queen. They watched her open the gates and barrel through. Whispers were passed through them. They were too scared to follow her, but they were curious about what was creating the crying and why their Queen was so interested in it. They instantly hushed when the Queen closed to gate with some force. A few monsters left, knowing they would find out what happened later from their neighbors, most stayed and waited for the gate to open again and reveal whatever the Queen was to find in the room.

Toriel, on her part, knew exactly what she was going to find, though she hoped it wasn’t what she thought. She hoped they were older than they sounded. She hoped they hadn’t fallen yet, and it was only an effect of the high walls sound could easily bounce off that made them sound so close. Did that sound farfetched? She hoped… Oh, she hoped…

She gasped and covered her hands with her mouth. Her hopes came crashing down to the ground and were destroyed with just one sight. She’d been foolish to hope. Hoping had never gotten her or the other monsters anywhere. They had only made it harder to accept facts.

There, lying on her stomach, in the bed of flowers was a little baby. She appeared to be around a year old, give or take a month or two. She was stuck in a grey baby swaddle. She moved her fists in the flowers, pounding or grabbing onto the stems and petals. She had a full head of brown hair that was littered with dirt and sticks from the fall. Her eyes were closed, but Toriel could guess they were beautiful and huge. Her mouth was opened wide, revealing 4 perfect baby teeth. Tears mixed in with snot and spit ran down her face, making her cheeks and upper lip glisten.

She was beautiful.

Toriel slowly walked forwards, her gaze never leaving the baby. She carefully crouched down in front of the tiny baby, spreading her dress around her, and tried to make herself seem as unintimidating as possible. She didn’t want to scare the poor thing anymore than they probably already were.

Some fear was inevitable, unfortunately. The baby opened her eyes, which were indeed big and also brown. She stopped crying for just a moment, and then started up again with a screech. The sorrow was replaced with fear. Her wails were even louder than before, which seemed a feat near impossible.

“Mamamamamama ma,” she whined in her baby voice before going back to regular plain old crying. She tried to scoot backwards, away from Toriel. She wasn't very successful. Her legs became tangled in the flowers.

“Do not be afraid, my child. I will not hurt you.” Toriel spoke softly and kindly, like she would if this was her own child. She had experience soothing crying babies. Her own child had seemed to enjoy crying about little things and getting into his little fits. She had always been the one to calm him down, since her husband had known squat about what he should do when faced with a crying child. Well, at first. She supposed he had gotten a little better as time passed.

“My name is Toriel. I am the caretaker of the Ruins.” She knew the baby was too young to understand what she was telling her, but she hoped her voice would be able to calm them and show she wasn’t anyone to fear.

The baby’s crying became a little quieter. Whether it was because her fears were being alleviated or she had screamed herself hoarse, Toriel couldn’t be sure. The baby watched the boss monster closely. She seemed very attentive for one her age.

Toriel opened her arms. “Shh. It is okay. Shh.” Slowly, so she didn’t freak the little one out, she moved to pick her up. She held the baby to her chest and rocked her gently, continuing to make shushing noises. The baby’s screams and cries became louder again. She pushed their tiny hands against the monster, but Toriel kept up with what she was doing. The cries eventually petered out into whimpers after an unknown amount of time.

“Mama,” the baby hiccupped every so often.

Toriel looked up at the hole to the Surface, squinting from the bright sunlight that streamed through. Anger rose in her that she forced down. She had to stay calm for the baby’s sake. They had just stopped crying. She didn’t want to get them started again.

She didn’t think she liked the parents of this baby very much. A child this young would never be able to climb the mountain on her own. Sometimes children their age wandered off, but this was too ridiculous to even think for a second the baby had fallen of her own fault. Someone, probably the parents, had climbed with the incentive to get rid of their child. Toriel tried to search for an alternative but couldn't find one.

The thought disgusted her. This action was even worse than what her husband had done. Disposing of your own child in a manner like this… It was awful and wicked. They must have known the baby would likely die from this. Toriel herself had no idea how she had survived a fall from this height. The fragile human didn't even appear to be injured. The bed of flowers must have saved her, as well as some other magic in play.

“Are you okay now, little one?” Toriel asked, holding the baby out a bit so they could see each other face to face. The baby had dirtied her dress by wiping her face on it, but Toriel couldn’t care less. She was used to this from her time as a mother. She missed those days. They had been exhausting, but she missed them.

The baby, tired of crying and curious of the new creature who had shown her kindness, tilted her head. She reached a tiny finger to poke Toriel’s snout. Her eyes widened a bit at the softness. She splayed their fingers out on Toriel’s cheeks and rubbed them against her fur.

Toriel smiled at the baby’s garbled laughter. She cradled the baby in her arms. The baby tried to reach one of her ears. Her tiny hand barely brushed against it. Toriel was glad she wasn’t able to reach. She knew how strong babies could be, and she didn’t fancy her ear getting tugged on.

“Yes, you seem happier now.”

The baby cooed once in reply and then quieted. Her mood shifted quickly. Her face fell into a pout. “Mama?” Her head tilted upwards, gaze searching. “Mama!” Tears filled her eyes. “Mama…”

Toriel felt like crying herself. The mother had chosen an awful time to get rid of her baby. Anytime was awful, but this seemed even worse. She had waited until the baby had become attached and recognized the mother as her caretaker and someone important. This poor thing… She held the baby close to her. “I am sorry, little one. Your mama is not coming back.”

The baby couldn’t understand her, but she let out a wail anyway. She could hear and recognize the sad tone in Toriel’s voice.

“Shh. Everything will be okay. I will take care of you. I will protect you.” Toriel had taken care of all 7 humans that had fallen down so far to the best of her abilities. She had failed them all. Her best was not enough… She wouldn’t fail this one. She wouldn’t allow herself too. She was only a baby, so she would listen to Toriel. She wouldn’t be able to leave the Ruins. She would grow up to want to stay with her. Toriel would be able to keep the child safe from any monsters who tried to harm her.

Sickness was another problem, but after the devastating loss of her human child, she had taught herself as much as she could about human sicknesses. She was certain she would be able to treat and take care of the baby if she caught an illness.

This would work. Toriel would make it work. She would do better than her best. She had too. She couldn’t fail this one. This child vulnerable and alone. Just a small baby. She needed Toriel.

She arranged the black cloak she wore when she was on errands around her so the baby would be more hidden from view. She didn’t think any of the Ruin monsters would try to harm the little one or reveal her existence to the rest of the Underground. They most likely didn’t even know what a human looked like, but she had to be careful. She didn’t know many of them very well. There was no telling what they would do.

She walked back and forth, gently rocking the baby, until she was certain her crying fit was over… for now. “I need you to be silent, okay, little one?” Toriel brushed a few of the leaves and sticks from her hair. The baby babbled. Toriel took that to mean a yes.

She set out on a fast pace. The sooner she got back home, the safer the baby would be. She opened to gate. A handful of the nosiest monsters were still waiting for her return. Their heads all jerked up when she stepped through the gate. She gave them stern glances. “You may go about your business.” Their gazes darted to the partially visible bundle in her arms. Toriel could tell they were very curious to see what exactly had caused all the racket. She stood straighter and held her head high, daring any of them to take a step closer or not listen to her. They took in the change of her demeanor and moseyed out of the room, some of them lingering longer to whisper and gossip with their friends than they needed to. She knew this would probably be the talk of the Ruins for a few days.

She held the baby carefully as she navigated the dangerous puzzles in the Ruins. Well, dangerous in retrospect. These were as dangerous to the locals as a cat was to a homeowner. Sometimes there were accidents, but they were usually small, just a scratch. The monsters who lived here had the solutions memorized. She had considered disabling them when she had first moved to the Ruins, but she hadn't known how to. Ruin monsters were very smart, but they hadn’t known either. She stressed over it for a few months, and then grew used to them. She didn’t give them a second thought anymore. They were merely apart of living in the Ruins. The only people who had to worry about it being dangerous were the outsiders, and there were never many outsiders in the Ruins anyway, except for the occasional human that fell. Toriel was always there to help and guide them through, so there was really no concern.

“We are home, little one,” Toriel said. She shifted the baby’s weight on one arm so she could open the door to her house. No one in the Ruins bothered to lock their doors. Most of them didn’t have anything worth stealing, and there wasn’t anyone who would steal even if they did. This was a very safe place, much safer than where Toriel had lived before, New Home. And even the city in New Home had been a relatively safe place. Monster civilization in general was safe – as long as one wasn’t a human. There were a few bad and desperate monsters but not many.

“I suppose our first order of business should be giving you a bath.” The baby was awfully dirty from her fall. Her face was sticky with her snot and tears. There were still many leaves and sticks that needed to be removed from her hair, and her skin was also streaked with dirt.

Her pupils swiveled up to Toriel when she heard the word bath.

“Bath,” Toriel repeated, encouraged by the reaction. “Would you like a bath?”

“Ah!” The baby shook her fists and smiled. “Ba!”

Toriel smiled back at the baby. She was very happy to see her enthused about the thought of a bath. Her son had hated taking baths like they were going to kill him. She’d had to fight him every bath day. He would try to hide and then scream and bleat bloody murder as soon as he saw the water. The bathroom ended up a watery and bubbly mess at the end. It had always been a given that Toriel would end up getting a bath as well.

“Okay, I will give you a bath then. Let me retrieve an outfit for you first. I believe I still have a few your size stored away.” Toriel had kept a box filled with things from when her child, Asriel was a baby. She mostly kept the memorable stuff, such as his favorite toys and outfits. She had thought to save a few bottles and other necessities, just in case. She hadn’t thought she would have another a child, but sometimes situations-like the one she was in now -happened.

The size difference between Toriel and the baby was so prominent, she was able to hold the baby in just one arm so her other could be free. She lifted the box labeled _Asriel’s Baby Objects_ and set it carefully down on the ground. The baby gazed inside the box as Toriel took out the toys to get to the clothes that were in the bottom of the box.

“Ah!” The baby pointed at something inside the box.

“Oh, do you see something you like?” Toriel looked inside the box to see what the baby was pointing at. She pulled out a fluffy blue bear stuffed animal and held it in front of the baby. “Is this what you want?

“Ah!” The baby replied. She bounced up and down and held out her tiny arms expectantly. “Agaba.”

Toriel gently placed the bear in the baby’s arms. “This belonged to my son. He named them Boo, though I believe he was trying to say blue.”

The baby gargled happily and rubbed her fingers against the soft bear. Toriel went back to searching for a nice outfit while the baby was content and distracted. She pulled out outfits and compared them next to the baby until she found a coverall that had green and yellow stripes. This had been the outfit her son had worn the most. She had even made some shirts for him styled similarly, since he had liked the colors so much.

“This will fit you nicely,” Toriel decided. She slung the outfit over her shoulder and stood, pushing the box against the wall with her foot. She would need it later, so she might as well keep it out instead of putting it away.

She went inside her bathroom and kneeled down next to the bathtub. She turned on the bath water, dipping her hand under the stream to find a temperature suitable for the baby, and plugged the tub. She allowed a few inches of water to fill before turning it off. The baby babbled excitedly and pointed at the bathtub.

Toriel pried Boo, the stuffed bear, from the baby’s arms and set him down on the rug next to her. “I will get you some toys suitable for the bath,” she informed the baby. She reached into her cabinets and pulled out a bucket filled with bath toys. She had learned to be prepared for the humans that had fallen. She also searched in the back for some soap and shampoo that would be suitable for the baby. She had just enough for this bath time from her children, but she would have to get more. The last two objects she had to retrieve were a towel and washcloth.

She set everything next to her and carefully laid the baby on her back next to the stuffed bear. She decided to double check the baby for any injuries. She didn’t see any, but that didn’t mean there weren’t any small ones she had missed or internal injuries. She pulled the baby’s SOUL from her chest and gasped softly. A red SOUL… Just like…

The wide-eyed baby poked at her SOUL, forcing Toriel away from her daze. The baby jerked and let out a displeased sound at the strange sensation she must have felt from the touch. Toriel quickly and gingerly moved the SOUL away from the child.

“You have to be careful. If you poke or touch too hard, you will hurt yourself,” Toriel informed her. The baby didn’t understand, but she didn’t move to touch the SOUL again.

Toriel checked the SOUL for a loss of HP. There was none. Her HP was at max. She really had not been injured in any way from her fall. “You are very lucky, little one.” She allowed the tiny SOUL to float back into the baby.

She unzipped the swaddle and pulled the baby’s arms and legs out from it. She then took off the swollen and heavy disposable diaper and tossed it into the trash. The diaper had come very close to leaking through.

“I almost forgot about diapers. I should have a few cloth diapers somewhere, but they may not be necessary often. We rarely come across human food I could give you down here.” She would need to live on monster food. Toriel hoped that wouldn’t be a problem for the baby. She didn’t think it would. Her human child had seemed perfectly fine with monster food. They had contracted that sickness, but they had been living with them long enough that they would have gotten sicker much sooner if the absence of human food was the problem.

The baby, impatient to take her bath, rolled over onto her belly and crawled to the tub. She pressed her hands against the slippery side and pulled herself onto her legs. “Gadabl.” She pointed into the bath and looked at Toriel eagerly.

“Yes, in you go.” Toriel grabbed the baby by the waist and sat her into the tub. “Now, remember, you have to stay sitting when taking a bath.” The baby screeched with happiness and hit the surface with her fists.

“Would you like a toy?” Toriel held up a floating boat toy.

“Ah!”

Toriel dropped a couple toys into the bathtub. She then rolled up her sleeves and grabbed the shampoo. She had the baby tilt her head upwards as she squeezed out just a small droplet into her hair. The baby continued trying to play with her toys, completely unconcerned. She cupped one hand on the baby’s forehead to prevent the shampoo from going into her eyes. The other hand she stroked through her hair. Soapy suds started to form as Toriel scrubbed her hair. She rinsed her fingers in the water and carefully started to wash out the soap. She didn’t want to get any shampoo in the baby’s eyes. Loud screaming always followed if she didn’t exercise enough caution.

Luckily, the bath was peaceable. No shampoo got in her eyes. The baby kept up with her babbling and playing, pausing to giggle when Toriel began to gently scrub her tummy with the washcloth. The only way this was even remotely similar to the bath times Toriel had experienced with her son was that this baby did like to splash some water around, but even that wasn’t near as bad as her son.

She unplugged the tub when she was finished, and the baby was all nice and clean. The baby noticed bath time was over and held up her arms. Toriel wrapped her up in the towel and picked her up. “You look very nice now. I bet it feels good to be clean.”

“Uh gababa,” the baby seemed to agree.

“Yes, it does.” Toriel held the baby and rocked her for a few minutes and then started to dry her off. She would have to brush the baby’s hair when she had dressed her. The baby had enough hair now that it looked messy and stuck up in some places.

“I wonder what your name is, little one,” Toriel said, finally realizing that the baby would, indeed, have a name. She had just been calling her the baby and little one. She didn’t know the baby’s real name, and she would likely never find out. It wasn’t like she could contact this baby’s mother and ask for the name of the baby she had thrown down the hole. “I guess I will have to give you a name.”

She paused in the dressing and looked down at the child. Name ideas soared into her mind one by one. _Aria… Alissa… Callie… Cassidy…_ They were all quickly rejected. None of them sounded right. She would have to ponder over it for some time to think of a good one. She went back to dressing the baby.

“Do you remember my name? It is Toriel.” It was sounding and looking like Toriel was going to become her mother, but she didn’t want to introduce herself as such right now. The baby already recognized who her real mother was and might become confused if Toriel tried to teach her to call her ‘mama’. She could choose to call Toriel that later if all this worked out, and if she wanted to.

“Oh.” The baby was watching her closely.

“Can you say my name? Toriel?” She pointed to herself. “Toriel.”

“Doh.” The baby was very clearly trying to imitate her.

Toriel smiled excitedly. “Yes! Toriel. Or you can call me Tori, if that is easier for you.”

“Doh… Eee.”

“Yes! Very good! Tori.” Toriel pointed to herself again.

“Doh Eee.” A huge grin appeared on the baby's face. “Doh Eee!”

“That is me. I am Tori.” Toriel smile became more kind and nurturing. She picked the baby up, having finished dressing them, and walked out of the bathroom. She could clean up later when the baby was napping. Hopefully, they still took naps!

She brushed her finger across the baby’s cheek. She was still very angry and sad the baby was here. She would never be able to rid those feelings. The baby was so innocent and sweet. This should have never happened to her. Toriel was also a little happy fate had brought them together. She would take care of this baby and raise them like they were her own.

“I promise to protect you, little one,” she whispered.

She would do whatever it took to keep her promise.

**Author's Note:**

> I just wanted to write something with Baby Frisk, and I really had fun with it. Thank you for reading!


End file.
